Thursday, March 7, 2013

Israel flouts international law

In separate letters to the Taoiseach and the Tánaiste and in the Dáil on
Tuesday, I urged the Irish government to use the good offices of the Presidency
of the EU, which it currently holds, to raise the report of the EU Heads of
Mission in Jerusalem at the next meeting of the EU Leaders. The Taoiseach agreed
to do this.

The content of the EU report has only emerged in recent days
although the report itself was handed over to EU governments in January.

It makes grim reading and is a scathing indictment of the Israeli
government’s flouting of international law and its violation of the rights of
Palestinian citizens living in East Jerusalem and the occupied territories.

The report finds that the Israeli settlements in East Jerusalem and the
west bank are ‘the biggest single threat to the two state solution.’

The EU report accuses the Israeli government of implementing a
settlement policy that is ‘systematic, deliberate and provocative’.

It concludes that Israel is pursuing a deliberate policy of seeking to
drive Palestinians out of East Jerusalem through restrictive zoning and
planning, demolitions and evacuations, discriminatory access to religious
sites, an inequitable education policy, difficult access to health care and
inadequate provision of resources.

The 15-page report from the EU diplomats identified settlement
construction on the southern flank of east Jerusalem -- in Har Homa, Gilo and
Givat HaMatos - as being the "most significant and problematic".

The diplomats warned that this construction would likely cut the area
off from Bethlehem by the end of the year.

‘The construction of these three settlements is part of a political
strategy aiming at making it impossible for Jerusalem to become the capital of
two states … If the current pace of settlement activity on Jerusalem's southern
flank persists, an effective buffer between east Jerusalem and Bethlehem may be
in place by the end of 2013, thus making the realization of a viable two-state
solution inordinately more difficult, if not impossible.’

The report also focuses on plans announced by Israel late last year to
build 3,426 units in E1 -- a strip of West Bank land east of Jerusalem. If this
project goes ahead the EU report concludes that it will effectively cut the
West Bank in half.

The report, which was written by the EU heads of mission in Jerusalem
and Ramallah, makes six recommendations. It calls on the European Union to ‘prevent, discourage and raise awareness
about problematic implications of financial transactions, including foreign
direct investments, from within the EU in support of settlement activities,
infrastructure and services.’

It recommends that the EU, which is Israel's largest import and export
market and accounts for about a third of Israel’s total trade, should take
sanctions against settlements in East Jerusalem and the west Bank. It wants
settlement products clearly labelled to ensure that ‘imports of settlement
products do not benefit from preferential tariffs’. “

The information in this report cannot be ignored or set aside.

It also has to be seen in the
context of the deteriorating political situation following the death in disputed
circumstances of Arafat Jaradat, who was arrested by the Israeli Army for
throwing a rock and who died five days later on Saturday February 23rd
in Megiddo Prison. His family, who party colleague Pat Sheehan met several days
ago in Palestine, have accused the Israeli authorities of torture.

The UN Middle East peace envoy Robert Serry has
called for an independent international inquiry into Israel's
treatment of Palestinian detainees. I would echo that call.

A letter sent by the Palestinian UN
Ambassador to the security council revealed that Jaradat was ‘subject to severe beatings, abuse and
medical negligence during his captivity’. The letter said that Jaradat had
six broken bones in his neck, spine, arms and legs along with other injuries.

The situation was exacerbated by the shooting
of two children by Israeli troops. 13 year old Mohammed Khaled Qurd was shot
twice by an Israeli soldier. Film footage shows him standing some distance from
where a petrol bomb was thrown at a heavily fortified Israeli outpost.

The continuing detention of over 4,500 Palestinian
prisoners and their conditions of imprisonment has been the catalyst for much
of the recent violence. It is usual
for prisoners to be held in solitary confinement, some for years, and they are frequently denied visits from their family. Many of those being held are also kept in constant lockup with little access to fresh
air or exercise.

The UN Middle East peace envoy Robert Serry has
called for an independent international inquiry into Israel's
treatment of Palestinian detainees. I would echo that call.

I also
believe that the Irish government needs to provide leadership on this issue. It
currently holds the Presidency of the EU. This EU report provides clear
evidence of Israeli breaches of international law and the implementation of
policies that are reminiscent of the homeland policy of the old apartheid
regime in South Africa.

The Irish government should act urgently on the information and recommendations
made by EU officials. This should include the introduction of EU wide
legislation to prevent Israeli products manufactured or grown in Israeli
settlements in East Jerusalem and the West Bank from benefitting from
preferential tariffs agreed under an Israeli-EU trade agreement.